1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle transmission shift system.
2. Description of the Background Art
Modern road transportation moves a huge quantity of goods each and every day. Large trucks carry everything from food to flowers, and are moving at all times of the day and night. Although regulations govern the total hours of driving time a driver may put in, many routes require significant transit times, and truck development has had to reflect the needs of the drivers.
As a result of large distances and lengthy highway driving times, many modern trucks include a sleeper. The sleeper allows a truck driver to make long runs without having to incur the expense of renting a room.
A typical truck sleeper is built onto the back of the truck cab, and is a relatively small space in which a mattress or other bed may be found. Access to the sleeper is usually through a space between the driver and passenger seats of the truck.
However, in the related art a gearshift or gearshift console is usually located somewhere in the region between the seats. The gearshift or gearshift console usually extends upward out of the floor, even in trucks having newer powertrains that are electronically shifted or controlled. Therefore, although the gearshift or gearshift console may be in an optimum position for use during driving, it is in a poor position at other times and blocks access to the sleeper, for both the driver and any passenger.
What is needed, therefore, are improvements in vehicle gearshifts.